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Ty Defoe (Giizhig)
Writer & Original Co-Director

is from the Oneida and Ojibwe Nations. He is a Grammy award-winning composer, a librettist, interdisciplinary artist, actor, Broadway choreographer, eagle dancer, and hoop dancer. Ty interweaves artistic projects with social justice, indigeneity, trans rights, Indigi-Queering, and environmentalism. Awards, residencies, and fellowships: 2022 The Kennedy Center's Next 50, 2021 Helen Merrill Award-winner, TransLab Fellow, Robert Rauschenberg Artist in Residence, Jonathan Larson Award, Cordillera International Film Festival Finalist, 2021 Cultural Capital Fellow, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center finalist, and the ASCAP Musical Theater Workshop. Ty’s songs have been featured at: Lincoln Center, Joe’s Pub, Ars Nova, 54 Below, The Met, and The Kennedy Center. Ty’s theatrical work has been presented at: Guthrie Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Yale Institute of Musical Theater, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Native Voices at the Autry, The New Victory Theater, First Stage, The Millennium celebration in Cairo, Egypt; International Music Festival in Ankara, Turkey; and Festival of World Cultures in Dubai, and coming soon: Syracuse Stage. Works: TransWorld, Red Pine, The Way They Lived, Ajijaak on Turtle Island, Hear Me Say My Name, Hart Island Requiem, Clouds are Pillows for the Moon, Wind Changes Direction, Before the Land Eroded, BasketBall Is 'War, Minus the Shooting' In Sectarian Lebanon, River of Stone, Firebird Tattoo, Trial and Tears (with Dawn Avery), and The Lesson (with Nolan Doran and Avi Amon). Ty is a core member of All My Relations Collective, recent piece: GIZHIBAA GIIZHIG | Revolving Sky